WR-V crosses 50,000 sales milestone, helps Honda double UV market share

Honda Cars India’s high-selling WR-V crossover has crossed the 50,000 cumulative sales milestone in India in a little over a year since its launch. Launched in March 2017, the Honda WR-V has accounted for 28 percent of the Japanese carmaker’s total sales during the past 12 months.

Importantly, the WR-V has helped double the company’s utility vehicle market share. In the April 2017 to February 2018 period, Honda’s UV market share has risen to 6.56 percent from 3.17 percent the previous year.  

Honda Cars India has been maintaining a strong sales momentum in the current fiscal year and has sold 156,452 units (+13.07%) during April-February 2018. This period has seen the company’s passenger vehicle market share grow to 5.24 percent from 5.00 percent a year ago.  

Commenting on the success of the Honda WR-V, Yoichiro Ueno, president and CEO, Honda Cars India (pictured above), said: “This is a very proud moment for us. The Honda WR-V has witnessed great success in the Indian market and the 50,000 sales milestone validates its strong presence. It has emerged as a strong volume model in Honda’s model line-up, striking the right chord among young urban customers who are looking for status, comfort and have an active lifestyle.”

According to the company, the WR-V has gained popularity across markets with its sales fairly distributed across regions. While Tier 1 markets, comprising large cities, contributed to 38 percent of its nation-wide sales, the model has found equally strong resonance from Tier 3 markets due to its aspirational value and product strengths like high ground clearance. Tier 1 cities account for 38 percent of WR-V sales, Tier 2  cities have taken 30 percent and Tier 3 towns and cities 32 percent. 

According to Honda, the WR-V has seen maximum demand from North India (30%), followed by the western region (28%), then the eastern regioin (15%) and South India (27%).

The top-end VX variant is the best-selling WR-V model and accounts for 80 percent of the vehicle's sales. The fuel-wise sales split for the WR-V till now is 42 percent petrol and 58 percent diesel. 

The WR-V notched its first milestone when it drove into Top 5 UV list in June, selling 4,243 units, helping increase the company’s UV share to 6.60 percent in Q1 FY2018, almost doubling it from previous year’s 3.84 percent in the same quarter.

What has helped the WR-V’s drive in India is the surging demand for SUVs and the Rs 10,000-odd GST-driven price reduction. Foreseeing increased demand for the model, Honda Cars India had increased supplies of the WR-V to its dealers which has led to smooth deliveries across the country.  

The WR-V, which took four years of development time, was the first model developmental project by Honda's India 120-engineer-strong R&D team which includes 40 Japanese engineers. The move for increased engagement of the India team seems to have clicked because demand for the vehicle continues to soar. The 'W' in W-RV stands for ‘winsome’. From its performance over the past year, it looks like the WR-V has already charmed car buyers in India.